Episode 12

At the hospital.

Lara narrating.

I nod, and my aunt starts talking.

"Lara, first, I want you to forgive me and, most importantly, forgive your mother. My sister loved you her whole life, and you need to understand her." I hear her say that, and tears immediately start rolling down my face. Why do I have to forgive her and my mother? What did they hide from me? My aunt starts talking again, pulling me out of my thoughts and the many questions I wanted to ask.

"Your mother had a daughter, Lara. The name of your mother's other daughter... Your mother went to work for a very wealthy family, and her boss had a daughter the same age as your mother's daughter... My sister's daughter died when she was just a baby, so your mother became very attached to her boss's baby... When the baby was three years old, your mother took her to the park but never came back... She kidnapped you, Lara. The family was going to fire her, and she didn't know how to live without you. It wasn't difficult; her daughter's birth certificate became yours," she says, crying a lot, and I'm speechless. This could only be a joke. How could this be real? I can't believe this.

"The family's name is Clifford. Forgive me, Lara. I only did this for her. I didn't look at you because I always thought you were the biggest mistake your mother ever made." When she says Clifford, I freeze. This was impossible. They were one of the richest families in the world.

"It's okay," I say, leaving the room.

When I leave the room, my cousin enters. I go to my cousin's house and straight to her room, locking the door. I was out of breath and felt like my heart would stop at any moment. I wanted to scream for the whole world to hear, so I grab a pillow, rest it on my knees, bury my face in it, and scream.

When I'm calmer, I call Enzo, but he doesn't answer and sends me a message saying he's busy.

I set my phone aside, and much later, I pick it up and call Vitoria. It doesn't take long for her to answer, and as soon as she does, I tell her everything.

📳 Vitoria: But girl, didn't she say she didn't look at you because you look so much like your mother?

📳 Lara: Girl, my mother and I have nothing in common, that's why I always thought it was strange. She said the real reason is that I'm my mother's biggest mistake.

📳 Vitoria: But why wouldn't she look at you? That doesn't make much sense.

📳 Lara: I don't know; I didn't ask. When Alicia gets here, I'm going to ask her, and I'm leaving tomorrow.

📳 Vitoria: NO WAY! — Vitoria yells into the phone.

📳 Lara: What's wrong, crazy?

📳 Vitoria: Grab your laptop and look at Andreas Lorenz's Instagram.

📳 Lara: Okay.

I grab my laptop and put the call on speakerphone. I open Instagram and go to the profile she told me about. He's a friend of Enzo's, so it wasn't hard to find. I open his story and I'm dumbfounded by what I see.

📳 Lara: Girl, don't let Enzo know I saw this stuff. I'll be there tomorrow.

📳 Vitoria: Don't worry, I won't say anything.

📳 Lara: Alicia's here; I'll talk to you later.

We say goodbye, and I end the call. I take some screenshots of Andreas's story and go talk to Alicia. When she sees me, she starts talking.

"Cousin, I was shocked when my mother told me. I found out the day I called you to come over. I just didn't tell you because I thought she should be the one to tell you," she starts talking hurriedly.

"Calm down, breathe," I say, trying to smile at her, which doesn't work very well. "Why wouldn't she look at me? The truth!!!" — I ask, and she gives me a serious look.

"Shame. She's ashamed for agreeing to what her sister did. She's ashamed to be an accomplice, and you reminded her of it every day, and she couldn't do anything," she replies sincerely.

"I still can't believe this. I need to lie down for a bit and think. Tomorrow, I need to go to Italy to sort some things out."

I get up, go back to the room, and lie down. I think all night and can't sleep. When I look at the window, it's already morning.

Enzo narrating.

Andreas's party was great. I was trying not to drink too much so I wouldn't do anything I'd regret later. When I was starting to get drunk, I stopped for a bit.

Andreas approaches me, hands me a glass, and tells me to try the drink. It was very sweet and tasty. When I was on my third glass, I don't remember anything else; it was like a blackout.

The next day, I wake up lying on Andreas' living room floor. I get up, and his house looks like a garbage dump. I hear a noise coming from the pool area, and I go there and see Andreas.

"Dude, you were out of control," he says, picking up plastic cups off the ground.

"What was that drink you gave me?" — I ask, remembering him giving me the drink to try.

"Beats me, man. The girls were making it. I drank it, liked it, and gave you some to try," he says, laughing.

"Damn, I don't remember anything."

"Must be why they call it amnesia. I had one glass, and I was gone," he says between laughs, making me laugh too.

I check my phone and see a message from Lara saying she's coming back.

"I gotta go. We'll talk later," I say and rush out of there. I go home to take a shower.

After showering, I go to the kitchen; I need to eat something. I arrive, and everyone's having breakfast. I say good morning to everyone, and they reply.

"How was the party last night?" my brother asks. Andreas must have called him.

"It was a social gathering with friends," I reply, eating a piece of bread.

"And what a social gathering it was! It was great, wasn't it?" — Vitoria says, and I look at the two of them, confused.

"You were there?" I ask, curious.

"We saw it on Andreas's story." When Bryan says that, I get a chill down my spine.

I grab my phone and look; I can't believe it. I can't believe I did those things.

I get up from the table and run to my room. I grab my phone and text Andreas, asking him to delete his stories, and he says he didn't even remember doing them.

I end up forgetting what I was going to do to ask Lara to be my girlfriend. I don't know how I'm going to tell her this. I need to tell her, just not sure how.

***This work has been signed with NovelToon, and piracy such as reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited.***

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***